PML-N government puts country on path of progress: PM

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Monday said with remarkable improvement brought about in every segment of life and economy during the last over three years, the PML-N government has put the country on the path of real progress and prosperity.

“There is huge difference in today’s Pakistan and that
of 2013, when the country had come on the brink of economic collapse.

There was acute energy shortage in the country, and
terrorism was on the rise,” Nawaz Sharif said while addressing the party workers and leaders here after his unopposed election as party president by the PML-N Central Council.

The Prime Minister recounted the PML-N government’s
achievements since its inception in 2013 and said power load- shedding has been lessened, economic indicators were positive and terrorism has been curbed to a large extent.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said owing to his
government’s policies, the country’s economy has witnessed a remarkable improvement during the last over three years with forex reserves reaching the historic level of US Dollar 24
billion from the mere around $ 3 billion in 2013.

He referred to the PML-N government’s two incomplete
tenures in the 1990s and said Pakistan had an unfortunate
history of ups and downs. “But we have to convert it into the fortune, and all of us have to play our role in this respect.”

Referring to the activities of his government’s political opponents, the Prime Minister said, every era had
witnessed some jugglers trying to befool the masses.
“Even today, these elements are befooling the people,
misleading the masses, and indulging in humiliation of people.

But we are not afraid of these,” he remarked.

The Prime Minister said instead of serving the people of
a province, where they had the mandate, they were spending their time at containers.

“Today, the people of KPK (Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa) are
looking for the man, who had promised them a new Pakistan,” Nawaz Sharif said.

Referring to the rallies of a political party, the Prime
Minister said, it had to struggle for months to gather the
people for a public meeting. “But now they (people) will not
turn up,” he remarked.

Nawaz Sharif said his party did not believe in blame-
games and hurling accusations. “Our focus is on serving the
people. Today’s Pakistan is changing and developing, and it is
being acknowledged in the world.”

He said Pakistan had been included in the list of fast
growing countries and leading magazines were publishing
positive articles about Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan’s stock market has been
included in the five fastest growing stock markets of the
world.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said due to his government’s prudent economic policies, inflation was under control and prices of essential commodities like onions, potatoes and other vegetables were very low when compared with 2013.

He said the prices of petrol and diesel have also witnessed significant decrease, adding, the government was committed to end power load-shedding by 2018.

The Prime Minister was highly appreciative of China for helping Pakistan to check energy shortage and bringing in huge investment for setting up dozens of power projects including gas-based, coal-fired, wind, solar and atomic energy projects.

He said 10,000 MWs of electricity would be added to the national grid by 2018, adding, his target was to add 30,000 MWs of electricity to meet the future energy requirements and the government was working on it.

He further said the prices of electricity for domestic consumers had also come down from Rs. 18 per unit in 2013 to Rs. 10 per unit at present and his effort was to bring it down to Rs. 7 to Rs. 8 per unit by the next years.

The Prime Minister was confident that due to his government’s performance, the PML-N would again win the 2018 elections including in the KPK.

He said the government due to its transparent and effective management and policies had saved Rs. 100 billion in the establishment of three gas-based power projects.

The Prime Minister also lauded Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his efforts in these power projects, terming it a unique example.

He referred to the title of “Punjab Speed” given to Chief Minister by the Chinese leadership for his efforts for fast-track work on power houses.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said coal-fired power projects of 4000 MW were being set up in Thar area of Sindh, which could bring the electricity price at Rs. 4 to 5 per unit.

He said a network of Motorways, Highways and Roads was being spread across the country. “We built Lahore-Islamabad Motorway in 1999. Now the work on Lahore-Karachi Motorway is in progress and the project will be completed during the next two years,” he added.

Similarly, the Prime Minister said a network of roads and highways was being established in Balochistan and KPK, connecting Gwadar with Khunjrab under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he added.

He said roads having length about 1000 km were being built only in the province of Balochistan and 80 per cent work on various roads projects in the province had been completed.
The Prime Minister also lauded the efforts and sacrifice of the personnel of armed forces, police and other law enforcement agencies in tackling the menace of terrorism across the country.

He said the federal government would establish 45 new hospitals across the country to provide best health-care facilities to the masses.

The Prime Minister rejected the criticism of his party’s political opponents over the Metro Bus project in Islamabad and said the poor and low income groups were benefitting from the service.

He also mentioned Rs. 18 billion Karachi Green Line project and Rs. 50 billion clean drinking water and sewerage projects, being funded by federal government for the betterment of masses.

The Prime Minister said that the government intends to spend $ 5.5 billion to improve the country’s railway system, which would upgrade the speed of trains from current 80 km per hour to a maximum of 160 km per hour and reduce the travel time between Karachi and Islamabad from 24 to 15 hours.

Similarly, he said, Pakistan International Airline would be turned into one of the best airlines in the world. “These development projects would improve the lot of poor and help eliminate poverty and backwardness from the country,” he added.

The Prime Minister vowed not to rest until he retrieved the masses from various problems, they were facing.

Referring to a political party’s plan of shutting down the federal capital, Nawaz Sharif remarked, “We will continue to construct roads, you keep on marching on roads.”